Brenden Aaronson turns attention back to the USMNT after a strong start at Leeds United

“It’s crazy to think how close the World Cup is,” Aaronson said as he prepared for the U.S. men's soccer team's last warmup games before the tournament.

Brenden Aaronson at a United States men's soccer team's practice in June.Read moreJonathan Tannenwald / Staff

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Updated Sept. 19, 2022, 5:21 p.m. ET

Published Sept. 19, 2022, 5:20 p.m. ET

As Brenden Aaronson has made his way through his first season at Leeds United, the Medford native has been too busy to consider how close the World Cup is.

But now that he is at the U.S. men’s national team’s last training camp before the tournament starts, the lightbulb has turned on. That U.S.-Wales game on the second day of action in Qatar is exactly two months from Wednesday. Yes, really.

“It’s crazy to think how close the World Cup is,” Aaronson said Monday on a Zoom news conference from the U.S. team’s training camp in Cologne, Germany. “With Leeds at the moment, I really haven’t had a chance to really think about it, but it’s really growing. Seeing the [national team] guys again, and thinking, like, ‘Wow, these are the last two games before the World Cup comes.’ It comes at you fast.”

FIFA’s move of this World Cup to autumn in order to avoid Qatar’s scorching summer heat is undoubtedly a factor in how everyone is processing things. Normally, European club seasons end in mid-May, and players then have a few weeks to get ready for an early-summer spectacle.

But this time, the release date for Europe-based players is Nov. 14, just six days before Qatar plays Ecuador in the tournament opener. The sport will be a madhouse up until then.

“When you look at it, you take a step back, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is a crazy year with a lot of games,’ and it’s just all kind of clumped in together,” Aaronson said. “You have to try to stay healthy as best you can, do everything you can to look after yourself, train more, and be ready for these kinds of things.”

‘I feel ready to go’

It will be even worse at Leeds, because two of its September games were postponed after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The U.S. team’s friendly against Japan on Friday (8:26 a.m., ESPN2, UniMás, TUDN, ESPN+) will be Aaronson’s first chance to kick a ball against someone else since Sept. 3.

“It’s been kind of tough not being able to get back in the swing of things,” Aaronson said. “But we’ve had some intrasquad [games at Leeds], and we’ve been training hard. So I feel ready to go.”

The 21-year-old – turning 22 on Oct. 22 – will be in one of the bigger spotlights of the 26 players on this U.S. squad. While Aaronson has been one of Leeds’ stars, the left winger above him on the national team depth chart, Hershey’s Christian Pulisic, has mostly been a substitute at Chelsea. That hasn’t changed since former manager Thomas Tuchel was fired earlier this month. New boss Graham Potter has had one game in charge so far, a 1-1 tie against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League, and he kept Pulisic on the bench until the 84th minute.

There’s also been a plot twist with the U.S. team, albeit a (hopefully) short-term one: Yunus Musah, one of the squad’s starting attacking midfielders, is sidelined with a groin injury. As Aaronson plays centrally for his club, could we see him in Musah’s place for their country this month?

Aaronson stayed diplomatic when the subject came up Monday.

“For Yunus’ sake, it’s a shame that he couldn’t get to camp,” he said. “I know all of us miss him, he’s a great character around the team, it’s tough not having him here, and he’s a fantastic player.”

Versatility on and off the field

Musah is also a different kind of player. He’s a tempo-controller whose best work often comes in deeper positions than the ones Aaronson occupies when he drives forward with the ball or presses high defensively.

Aaronson knows this as well as anyone. So it was no surprise to hear him say, “I don’t try to replicate my game after his — I think we have different qualities.”

But if Aaronson is asked to play centrally, he’ll of course do it.

“Position-wise, it doesn’t really matter, I think,” he said. “I like playing both positions in different games. I think different games ask different players [for] different opinions on the game.”

There was time for a few lighthearted questions, too.

Aaronson was seated with U.S. goalkeeper and new father Matt Turner on the podium, and they were asked how they’ve adapted to life in England away from soccer. When Aaronson revealed that he’s been improving his golf game, Turner interjected: “Must be nice.”

Aaronson was asked at one point about his brother Paxten’s progress with the Union, and gushed as an older brother would.

“I’m proud of everything that he’s accomplished so far in his career,” he said. “I know we’ve had a little bit of a different path, but I think he’s on the right path, and I think he’s going to end up having a fantastic career.”

And a question came up that’s been on a lot of fans’ minds for a few weeks. When Aaronson and Tyler Adams’ Leeds hosted Pulisic’s Chelsea in August, the three players chatted for a minute on the field after the final whistle (and after Aaronson had scored his first Premier League goal). The cameras caught them, and the pictures promptly went viral. Just what were they talking about?

“We were talking about golf, and hanging out,” Aaronson said.

Ah, the innocence of youth, even on one of the biggest stages in sports.